musubi | fourteenth breath ✧ voice

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luceti

fourteenth breath ✧ voice

[filtered from Sanji, though he's still not sure if he has the right idea]

Hey, uh... I don't suppose anyone's heard from Naoki since yesterday?

[Pause...]

Not that there's... probably any need to worry or anything. You know him - hanging out in the woods all the time... I bet he's hearing this right now.

Just, uh. You know. Let me know or something.

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All right. [Isamu tries and fails to sound irritated.] You better.

[He sits down against the sofa himself, feeling that his bedroom is too far away. He's not entirely sure why he feels the need to stay close for now, nor how he'll dismiss the matter later, but for now he's staying.]

[Naoki can't push back the small, grateful smile, glad he's not going anywhere. But he's quick to give in to exhaustion and lets himself fall into the first sleep he's had for days.

When he opens his eyes again, he can see dark night sky through the window and muzzily sighs and shifts to get more comfortable, wincing when he rolls on a bruise. He mutters something unintelligible under his breath and slowly sits up on the couch, rubbing at his eyes with his fists.]

[He might hear Isamu moving about in the other room, then. His roommate will be coming back shortly with a bowl of soup, which he sits on the coffee table.]

Ah. Good. Now it won't get too cold.

[Naoki blinks sleepily, lowers his hands from his eyes and turns so he can draw the bowl across the table, closer to him.]

Ah, thanks. [Beginning to eat as he thinks how to start explaining.]

How are you feeling? [He tries to judge from the current glow of Naoki's markings.]

[That red's dimmed to a greenish-yellow by now, and Naoki glances up at his face.] A lot better. [He drains the bowl in record time, gulping.]

Alright, so, this-- [Pause.] First of all...it wasn't Sanji, not really.

[He hadn't expected to get any answers right away, but he listens anyway, taking the bowl back from his friend.]

Not really?

[Naoki hesitates, curling a hand slightly.]

His body was being controlled. By a parasite...last time he came back from the Malnosso--a little bit after me, remember--he was being affected by something that made him follow any commands given to him.

Nami said Ginko-san figured that it had more than one purpose, and this was another one. It was getting him to try and attack and kill anyone close to him. [He glances up.] Like me. [And, lower.] A kind of...survival instinct, because we'd figure out something was up with him.

Edited 2010-07-24 20:36 (UTC)

[A parasite? It had been in him that long and they hadn't noticed? That meant it had been in him when he'd helped him practice shielding before... He frowns.]

And you knew this? The other morning when you left?

[Naoki nods a bit, looking over at him.]

When he called me to go to the plains, I figured it was going to try to kill me...

So you just... tell me not to go after you?! [No, he's nowhere near a match for Sanji, but this upsets him all the same.]

[He hesitates, but looks at him steadily all the same.] I didn't know what was going to happen. If you'd come looking for me, it would've caught you and...I don't know what would've happened. [No. He's got a good idea of what would've, actually.]

But it's okay if you go out and risk your life like that? If you knew something was wrong with him, you should've gotten more people. Ambushed him or something.

He was paranoid as it was, it wouldn't have worked if we'd tried to lure him someplace...

[He shakes his head.] The whole thing with this was to give us an edge. We tricked it into thinking it succeeded and then caught it off guard by attacking later on.

And what if he had succeeded?

[Quietly.] He wouldn't have.

Yeah, that's so easy for you to just say.

[Isamu has both fists clenched tightly in his lap now. Dammit, he'd been worried out of his mind!]

I'm not just...saying it. I would've ended up...

[...killing him before he had the chance. Naoki looks down, over at him and at his face.] I'm sorry, Isamu.

Damn right you're sorry. If something happened to you--

[He cuts himself off forcefully, taking a deep breath.] What... What happened to Sanji?

[Naoki's expression softens a bit with guilt as he bites the inside of his cheek.]

...he was passed out, when they took him back to their house. He didn't die...but I don't know anything more than that. [He curls his hand, grips at his knee tightly.]

I see. [It's not like he wanted Sanji to die either, or anything. Though if that got the parasite out... He'd come back, right?

He takes another deep breath and straightens up.] You're not allowed to leave the apartment for the next couple days. Just so you know.

[Naoki blinks at that. He's tempted to protest because, even injured, he'd rather be out and around--]

...at all?

At all.

...okay, Isamu.

[That's right. Dad's laying down the law! ...Wait.] I'd rather not lose any more years off my life worrying for you, thanks.

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